SPORTZ

After a win in this rather unusual season, especially considering who we beat, it makes you think about not only this season but the future.  Then along comes a statement from a coach that really gets to the nitty gritty of what a find this coach is and will be, and I have to say, it gives me chills…really great, spine-tingling chills.

David Teague stated after the Geelong match that, ‘What I really hope is that they start to believe. Belief is a powerful thing. I believe in this playing group.’ I mean how inspiring is that message – that you as a coach, as a leader of the club, believes in the playing group and what they can achieve.

The statement that belief is a powerful tool is exactly that – an exceptionally powerful tool. To know that what a person can achieve is part ability and part belief and he gets that.

You can be the most amazing player in the league, but it you don’t believe it, you will not achieve the goals you want. We saw this during the game at Geelong and this was clarified by their coach, Chris Scott who has said something is not right down at Geelong.

When I first read Teague’s statement, I really did get a bit emotional, because he states succinctly what I firmly and have always believed in: that if you have the will, the drive, results will happen. If you believe in your abilities, then results will happen. If you never give up, no matter what is put in front of you, results will happen.

I have always believed in the Carlton FC, no matter what they have been through. There have been times when I have wondered about the direction they were going in, but I have never stopped believing in what this club can achieve if only the players believed it themselves.

For a coach who has now solidified the club in a way that I have not seen for a while to come out and say this, is one that we, as Carlton supporters should get emotional about. At a luncheon last year to celebrate a Premiership Team, when the then interim coach was asked to say something, not one person remained seated. The thunderous applause and cheers and cries for ‘Teague’ reverberated around the function room. It was emotional, inspirational and one filled with pride. We believed!

David Teague’s words that are now circulating on social media have more power than anyone can really fathom, because not only does he believe in this playing group, but he is making us believe in this playing group. I’m not saying that it is perfect, but perfection does not garnish results that we want to see.  

Being great does not mean getting the best of the best if these bests don’t believe, as their best just falls by the wayside of missed opportunities. Being the best, means believing in who you are, what you are and knowing that those around you believe in you as well.

I hope that the players will start to believe as belief is a very powerful tool and I believe in this playing group as who knows where it can take us. But it will take us further than we could ever anticipate right now. Belief is a powerful thing!

#ALLOFUS

The footy started this past week and while we, the fans could not be there for the games, it was great to see it back. But what has tarnished this great game of ours and the re-start of the season was the racist attack on one of footy’s greats – Mr Eddie Betts.

I could not, like others, believe that someone could post something so vile and really ignorant, given the current climate that is sweeping the world. The person who posted this said that his account was hacked. Is that now going to be the catch-phrase of our world, that an account was hacked! I have tried to work out what type of people keep posting these things and while I have my own theory, the bigger issue is that we as a nation must stand up for our Indigenous people and what they have had to endure since we ‘graced’ their shores all those years ago.

Then I thought about it more and we, the ‘white’ people of this country have so much more to do in order to make our Indigenous people a vital part of our society in all aspects and to rid ourselves of people who belittle, taunt and are generally racists bullies hiding behind their screens and the catch cry – I was hacked.

We have to make the Indigenous culture a vital component of our education system. We have to stop stereo-typing Indigenous people into an area that is more negative than positive. We have to start celebrating a culture that gave us this great game of ours. We have to start becoming our own great country by celebrating and acknowledging the incredible culture that the Indigenous people have and live by.  We have to treat them with dignity and respect as we would with any other culture or religion, or creed or sexuality. 

The easy way in which some people believe that it is their right to post something that portrays a person in a way that has been over the weekend, shows more about their level of intelligence, education and respect. Does it mean we should just ignore them and hope they go away, ABSOLUTELY NOT! But what we have to do is wipe the slate clean and start again, yet always ensuring that the atrocities of their past are not swept under the carpet of well what was done, was done and nothing can be changed.

We must honor those that were at the mercy of a brutal regime that saw our Indigenous people as nothing more than what this person tweeted over the weekend and we must stop this once and for all. We must honor the Indigenous history that has shaped not only our country, but our sport. 

Being silent won’t help. Being aggressive won’t help. Being a part of a movement that places our Indigenous people to the forefront of what makes our country great, will help.  Teaching our children about the Indigenous culture from Prep right to Year 12 should be mandatory.

We have an amazing opportunity to show Eddie Betts and others not only in the footy world, but in our society as a whole, that we want to change. That we want to become a society that respects, admires and knows all that we can about the Indigenous culture, where our great game came from.

I stand in total unity with you Eddie Betts and every Indigenous person. I respect and admire who you are, your history, and your culture. While we cannot change the past, we sure as hell can make sure that the present and the future is one of respect, admiration and pride for our Indigenous people. It will, as Carlton’s slogan states, is going to take ALL OF US!

#ALLOFUS!

https://www.afl.com.au/news/449709/-being-silent-hasn-t-worked-thoughts-with-betts-after-disgusting-racist-post?fbclid=IwAR1pervDw45HBNiN9f5rSuAwW_VqPkVj3Cdk6L7cGcUO6NL4tfOCGZgZ7K0

The Covid19 has thrown not only a spanner in the works of the AFL season – both men and women, it has thrown a rather large, dynamite filled drum the size of Thor’s hammer, in the works.  With the AFL playing the first round with no supporters, it made for a rather soulless atmosphere of a game that, let’s be honest here, is nothing without its supporters.  It showed how the game can be played with the players celebrating a goal, taking a tackle, a mark, whatever, but it means not much really to the actual game because, without supporters, it is nothing more than a few people getting together to play a sport.

There is a TV show on paid TV called The English Game. It is about the rise of football in the UK and how it became not just a game for the “toffs” that played it, but for the people who supported it. It became a game that gave the local townspeople pride in their team and respectively, their town. It enabled lower class towns to challenge and beat the “toffs”. The pride the people felt and still do for their team was far more reaching than the actual game itself.  In the series, a team was spurred on by the support the town gave to the team and that team eventually won a Premier League cup.  Our game, Footy, is no different.

Sure, you can have players run around the ground playing the game, but it means nothing if supporters aren’t there, spurring their team on, through the challenges faced during a game. I understand that we all want the game to start up again, but at what cost?  The “hub” factor that is being touted around makes no real sense to me as a footy-loving supporter.  It will be like in the TV series, just a bunch of people running around, playing a game for no-one. This is, however, in fact, a momentous opportunity for the AFL. Here’s why.

Nevermore so than this time right now, there is an opportunity for the AFL to understand, appreciate, and respect the most important aspect of the game, besides the players – the fans. It is those people who pay memberships, go to the matches no matter where and no matter what the weather is or the cost, and who turn up, shout out, cheer and push their team to succeed.  It is not the corporates, those who sit in the boxes who are the backbone of the game – it is the supporters. Without the supporters, the members, clubs are nothing more than a bunch of toffs playing a game exclusively for themselves.

Right now, the AFL has not a golden, but a diamond opportunity to shift the game back to where it belongs – the supporters. It has an incredible chance to make them the focus for the future, for without them, the game, the clubs are nothing. The AFL must, I repeat MUST put the supporters and members in the forefront of any plans moving forward. It must speak to them, listen to them, and do all that they can to make them the most important factor of the game if the game is to be successful again.

The game will never go back to where it was, it can’t, for now, because of the huge impact this pandemic has had on the game. But let’s ask ourselves, do we want to go back to before Covid19 or do we want to move forward and make the game one that is what it should always be – for the people.

The AFL has a great opportunity here that it should not squander.

#BOUNDBYBLUE!

Without a doubt, this Covid-19 virus has sent the world into shock, disbelief and we are all now facing a future that is not only uncertain but dramatically changed…forever.  The way the powers-that-be handle this situation will be a testament to how we, as a nation, will recover and re-grow from this.

When the first round of the AFL season took place, it was one that received very mixed reactions, from “glad that footy is back” to “should not have started in the first place.” We saw great games of the AFLW season which, unfortunately for this season could not be completed and there were no Premiers for 2020 declared. We saw that around the world, people have been logging on and watching any sport, which has found them watching our game – AFL, and they have loved our game. It is weird, confusing and a bit scary that season 2020, when so many supporters of all clubs, especially those that could see a rise in their club, was now at an end. 

This sport is really a code that is so steeped in traditions, history and that family attitude that bind the love we have for the game, the club we love so much and the players in it – including the coaches, administrators and everyone involved in a club – with each other.  This is displayed in the very essence from the ones who week in and week out, give up their time to support their club in any way possible. I’m talking about the Cheer Squads. As one who is involved and a proud member of the Carlton Cheer Squad, I am struggling to think that the camaraderie and that family feeling that our Squad has built up, means that for season 2020, we won’t be together for a while, and this goes for every  Carlton group, and interstate groups.

For us, the Carlton Cheer Squad, it is more than a love of a team, of a club, it is a love for each other. We have become a family.  We fight, celebrate, argue, care and love each other like a family. We support each other when the chips are down and are there when there is a time for celebration.  I haven’t seen my “family” for a while and through the good and the bad, I bloody miss them. I miss the anticipation we all feel the day before a game. The messages sent to confirm times to meet at the ground. The discussions on who is going to do what on the day. The organization we share in getting the banner on the ground, laying out the floggers, the flags and giving at times, people who feel so honored to step on to the playing field and be a part of the rising of the club’s banner. I miss all that.

I miss the chants, the banter between the opposition, the times when we would either get soaking wet, or sunburned, but we would still celebrate and commiserate – together.

I’m not sure when we will be allowed to start again and reignite all this. I’m not sure if 2020 will be a year that we can or maybe we won’t be able to.  Maybe the whole world, including footy will be re-set and start again in 2021. No matter what, all I know is that I, together with all Cheer Squads, across the board and clubs, are feeling quite despondent right now, for we have been waiting for this all summer.

Everything we ever knew about footy will change from season 2021. Everything. It won’t be the same as it was before, it can’t.  We can’t just pick up where we left off. Players, coaches, and staff will have to pick up the pieces of their careers and literally start again. We will see some not come back; some come back with a vengeance and maybe some will come back and be the player no-one saw coming. But what I do know is that the family that is the Carlton Cheer Squad will be there no matter where and under what circumstances or conditions. Because we will be there in the good, the bad and the bloody ugly, and this, right now is ugly, and we are a family and that is what families do. Well, we do!

I am Bound By Blue!

While one season started, sweltering under the summer sun,

The joys that this brought can never be undone.

Seeing the girls in all their mastery, and majestic ways,

Made us all the more excited for the middle of March, and the start of AFL days.

It begins on the Sunday before, filled with excitement and anticipation.

I would go to sleep knowing that tomorrow I would be swinging into action.

Monday I would bring out my bag, making sure that all was in place.

My memberships ready to go, my beanie, scarf, and raincoat, just in case.

The media would be filled with what will be ahead, the start of this great six months.

Social media ablaze, the pros, cons, the speculations, bombard us on all fronts.

On Tuesday I would head to work, greet those who like me are eager and in the know

Of the importance of what is to come today, tomorrow.

On Wednesday the nerves would rise just thinking about the next 24 hours,

And how the start of this time, is not just mine, but ours.

Thursday would arrive and my concentration would be waning fast.

The time had arrived, the summer-long gone and well in the past.

That afternoon I would be heading to the ground early, for Cheer Squad duties follow,

And I would join in with placing flags, organizing the banner and be anything but mellow.

The Siren would blast, the cheer would roar and my emotions would be spilling over.

The long wait for this time to arrive, the love we have for our club, would all bring us a little bit closer.

But 2020 was not to be, and it is out of our control.

For a virus has shut the door to all of this and we are hurting, as an industry, as a whole.

For we cannot join in the melee that is the start of the AFL season, a sport that I love and adore.

I can’t be part of a world that is so uniquely ours and one that shapes our every contour.

But I may not be there to scream and cheer, and high-five supporters and players alike.

But I will be damned if I will let this interruption encroach on my excitement with this bloody virus strike.

So, join me when your team plays, wear your guernsey’s with pride and passion,

And let the players know that this will not deter us at all, in any way or fashion.

No matter where you watch, yell at the screen, curse the umps, scream out ‘ball’ and jump for joy when six points are scored.

Let the players know, female and male, that the grounds may be silent, but we are still and will always be on board.

As the siren sounds on Sunday night, then Thursday night next, hashtag the words #IAMTHERE and show your colors with pride.

Let the footy world know that we are united, so together, with all of us, we are with you on this very bumpy ride!

For I AM CARLTON. I AM FOOTY.

#IAMCARLTON

Since the start of the trade period, there has been growing speculation that SOS has had a falling out with the powers that be at Carlton.  According to news reports, he is set to leave the club under rather acrimonious circumstances.  There has been a backlash from some who have started a petition to keep him at the club.  There has been huge condemnation towards the club and specifically towards its CEO, Cain Liddle and calling for his instant dismissal.

Now I haven’t written for a while but feel the need to voice my view and opinion on this.  Let me first say that I love what SOS has done for the club in its re-build and who he has brought in to the club in terms of players. His ability to get a deal done is astounding and one that should be celebrated.  However, I am of the opinion and always have been, that with his close connection to two players at the club, his sons, that objectivity can sometimes, even in people with the best intentions, can cloud a person’s position in an organisation.

I love what SOS has brought to the club, but there should be no ‘finger-pointing’ and laying the blame on one or anybody.  There will always be in an organisation those that are at continual loggerheads, but how each party deals with issues will be a determination on each person’s role and future within that organisation.  How compromises and coming to an agreement to suit the organisation will determine how these people and the organisation move forward. To lay the blame solely on Cain Liddle is narrow-minded because it takes two to ‘tango’ as the saying goes and what Cain has brought to the club in terms of its growing membership, sponsorship and sense of overcoming a bitter past to a renewed present and future must never be overlooked.  To ask for his instant dismissal is so destructive that some just can’t see how destructive it will be for the club.

I am a firm believer that no-one, no matter how great they are, are indispensable. If we accept that, then we can accept the fact that SOS is also indispensable.  Yes, he has given us some great players, yes, he has an amazing capacity to wheel-and-deal, but it must never come as the cost of making his role one that no-one else can do.

If we want to be a successful club we can’t keep continually putting the needs of some over the needs of the club.  Just a few weeks ago some were bagging SOS for not doing the deal with Martin, now they are the same ones who are up in arms about his leaving.

We have to as a club thank SOS for what he has achieved during his time in his role, but him leaving will not spell the end of the rise of Carlton and we must not ask for his reinstatement and the sacking of Liddle because if we do, then we will lose not only current stars, but we will be sent back to where we were before Malthouse. 

Understand this, I love SOS and what he has done, but if it means he must now be moved on because of whatever reason of which the media and the social media world only speculate on, then so be it.  The club is in a position it hasn’t been in for a long time. Let us celebrate this and look forward to 2020, and for the rise of the club once more and not this bickering and backstabbing that only shows others outside the club that maybe we haven’t changed and we haven’t grown.

I will stand by Cain Liddle and the Carlton FC, whether that includes SOS or not. It takes a team to be successful and not just one person, no matter how great they are.

#BOUNDBYBLUE!

P.S This is my view and my voice only.

Without a doubt, the return of the irrefutable dynamic footy player, Mr Eddie Betts, has been met with mixed reactions, but on the whole, ones that are positive at the very least. If you watch the videos that Carlton has put online, you cannot help but be moved by what this means not only to him but the club and its supporters. I for one was devastated when he left and I put my jumper with his number on the back, in a cupboard and swore never to wear it again and I’m sure I’m not the only one. Now with his return, the number 19 has more significance than ever before. For those that disagree or think that his return is wrong, here’s my view and I hope those that disagree, will see my point.

Eddie Betts is a dynamic, electric and very charismatic person, on the field and off-field. What he can bring to a game is mind-boggling and one that inspires players and also supporters. He can perform the unattainable goal of, well the unattainable goal.  He can direct, determine and influence not only the game but his team-mates. He has the rare ability in any sporting world to be that bloody nuisance player that you want to tame, and it may work for some of the time, but not all of the time; and when he does what you know he is capable of doing, you sit back, shake your head and as Sydney Stack did this year, have to shake his hand.  That is what Eddie Betts is capable of doing on the field, but his off-field performance is one that is on equal footing.

When  Yarran left, then Garlett, neither actually fulfilled their potential. There were glimpses of what they were capable of, but they never really hit their mark and sadly, both have been lost to the footy world.  Eddie Betts is one of these people who wears his Indigenous background with pride and understands the pitfalls and the peaks that plague his fellow Indigenous players. He understood and supported both Yarran and Garlett, with his absence, both faltered.

His past, his growth and who he has become, is one that will enable him to mold, encourage, and be that empathetic senior player who can be that mentor to other younger Indigenous players. What he will be able to give to these players is one that no-one else can really give, because he has run the gamut of the lows and highs of footy life as an Indigenous player. His infectious persona is one that you just cannot help but admire and play along with.  His quiet determination to be the best he can possibly be and yet be that person that can be relied upon is one that is, well, priceless in the footy world.

Eddie Betts is now part of the AFLW Carlton team’s coaching personnel and one can only imagine what he will bring not only to the women’s team but to the men’s as well.  Yes, he is in his thirties, but one of Carlton’s greats (and my all-time favorite player) Craig Bradley was 38 when he retired.  He is the same type of player, same physique – who knows how long Eddie Betts can continue to play in the Navy Blue?

Carlton gave up their future 4^th-round pick for him and Adelaide will pay part of his current contract for one year.  He is on a year contract and just as with Simmo, his future will be determined by season 2020 and himself.

His return to the Carlton FC is the sporting stuff of magic because he has the ability to inspire, motivate and understand the game, the players and himself.  Why wouldn’t you celebrate this? I am.

#BOUNDBYBLUE

#WELCOME BACK EDDIE!

When the news came that AFL legend, Danny Frawley died in a car crash, the footy world as a whole, went into shock. The image of the car wreck hit the very core of every footy fan across the spectrum of the footy world.  Also, this week we saw the unveiling of the statue of the iconic display that trusted Tayla Harris into the spotlight not just in Australia but around the world.

Why these two moments are significant is because they both have garnished a reaction from everyone in footy. The reactions have been mixed for both and I don’t think some really understand the significance of these events.

If you looked at a dictionary of the meaning of “larrikin” in the Macquarie Dictionary, you would see that it is a defined as a mischievous young person, a lout or hoodlum, but in essence, it is defined as an uncultivated, rowdy, but good-hearted person.  Danny Frawley was the epitome of what the word larrikin implies – he was the Aussie lout, hoodlum, a mischievous, rowdy but good-hearted person.

Across the AFL world, those who knew him loved him and those who only knew him from his roles in the media…loved him as well.  He was happy to laugh at others, but also at himself, yet he had his demons and was brave enough to come out and state to the sometimes-unforgiving sporting world, his battles with depression and anxiety.

In the world of sport and the AFL, for an ex-player, ex-coach and a man who had the world at his feet, this was significant and it should serve as a huge warning to current players, coaches and others in the footy world.

The AFL has hired a person to head a Mental Health department and clubs are now looking more and more into having the necessary people and procedures available to them in order to assist players/coaches that are struggling, but that is not enough, for the players and coaches have to want to be helped.

Players and coaches alike must see past their paycheques and the glory that comes with being in the AFL as if they don’t, then they are heading down a path where it can be taken away so quickly. Indiscretions, drugs, alcohol, a career-ending injury and even saying “I’m ok” when you are not, can make a star fall from grace or given choice but to retire from the game.

I know that in this current climate there are huge issues with drugs and alcohol being rampant in our society.  On the website Beyond Blue, they state that drugs and alcohol can cause the symptoms of depression and/or anxiety.  But the catch-22 is that some use these very apparatus to cope.

The larrikin has been typically attributed to the Aussie notion of “she’ll be right mate” and so the men of our world bottle up their feelings, hiding behind the mask of the attributes of the larrikin.  When it all comes crashing down, they feel despondent and unmanly and there are some people who still hold to that theory, that they are unmanly, and they don’t really see the bigger picture. Which leads me to Tayla Harris and the statue.

Malcolm Blight has come out and stated that he thinks it is ridiculous that a statue has been made and placed at Federation Square about a footballer who was trolled on social media.  A lot of callers on SEN agreed with Blight.

The issue though in part was about the trolls on social media, but it was Channel 7’s reaction when they pulled the picture because of the trolls and then faced a massive backlash for that and subsequently, put it back up.  The trolls targeted Harris because of her agility and incredible athleticism and because Harris is a female, the comments made were derogatory and sexist.

This would not have happened had it been a male in that same position.  The statue is about empowerment not only of female athletes but of the right of females to be seen not because they are female, but of what they are capable of.

Nicky Winmar raised his guernsey to show the colour of his skin because he wanted to empower the plight of the Indigenous people in our country.  Tayla Harris was thrust into the spotlight because of a few idiots on social media and a TV station that decided that because of the trolls, a photo that epitomises everything we love about sport, should be taken down.  The backlash empowered people to show the inequalities shown our sporting world.

Danny Frawley came out to say he was struggling with depression and anxiety. This announcement empowered not only himself but other men who are also struggling and to allow them to come to terms with that and say to the world – I’m not ok.

Both Frawley and Harris should be celebrated for what they have achieved and empowered.  I have met Tayla Harris and had never met Danny Frawley, but I have a huge love and admiration for both who have empowered society in very different ways.

#BOUNDBYBLUE2020

After the announcement during the week that David Teague was now the official coach of the Carlton FC, eyes were then turned to see how he and the team would turn up on Saturday for a game against a much in-form St Kilda and a game classed as a “rubber” game.

If you were like me, I was glued to my computer screen at work and was thankful that I had two screens, so on one screen I was working and the other, watching.  I was emotional while watching the Press Conference and took a sigh of relief, for I could not really see any other coach (other than Clarko) being the Coach of the Carlton FC.  The reasons for this I have stated in other articles. That being said, I would like once more to state that I have nothing but admiration and wish to send a huge Thank You to Brendon Bolton for laying the foundation of this team and after the weekend’s game, for being instrumental in the team we have now.

This game on Saturday meant nothing to the final outcome of the competition, but it meant a whole damn lot more to the supporters of Carlton and they turned up in droves to the match.  The atmosphere was electric and you could have been mistaken for a finals match or a match that determined finals fate, was being played at the MCG.

The roar of the crowd when we kicked a goal. The roar of the crowd when McGovern took that amazing mark, his goals, his tug of his top showing who he is playing for. The roar of the crowd when Murph did what Murph does and kicked that goal from the pocket. The roar of the crowd when Harry McKay sealed the fate of the game from the 50-meter line shook the stadium foundations to the core.  The roar of the crowd when a fan favorite across the board – Kreuz spoiled a kick, in what could have been a goal in the last minutes of the final quarter.  But it was the roar of the crowd every time Daisy Thomas got hold of the ball and that “voodoo that he do” was so inspirational that there are now calls for Carlton to get him back.  But he understands the very nature of the footy world and while I would love Daisy to come back, I understand why he was let go.

Then the other roar of the crowd, the anger from the crowd directed at the umpires was astounding.  It was not just a few who protested at the inconsistencies displayed in umpire decisions during the game, it was the roar of the crowd that protested – the whole crowd. When a controversial decision went against Carlton and resulted in a St Kilda goal, you could not hear the cheers from the St Kilda fans, as they were drowned out by the boos from the roar of the Carlton fans. While we are all frustrated and angry at the umpires, a team that is focused on winning despite being thwarted by decisions that were out of their hands will know that it is that win that is all the more sweeter.

However, a team that has had a “lions share” of disruptions in the past, and played a game that in the end would have no bearing on the finals, dug deep, fought hard and put a contented grin on the face of its new coach.  The “rubber” game united a club and its fans, the ex-players, and the current players, because it was the fans, the ex-players, the current players that were all united with one very strong voice, we know who we want as our coach, we know what direction we want to go in, and that game showed why, because the direction we want to go is, that we will never give up or give in anymore.

In the past, we would have given up, succumbed to the inevitability of this “rubber” game as it didn’t matter what the outcome was. This match solidified that every match for the Carlton FC is a chance to show the footy world what this group of players is going to be capable of next year.  It may not have meant much for season 2019, but it did to the supporters – every one of them and it was a way to say thank you to a player who gave his all for a club that had disliked him once when he was playing for another.

This game may have been a “rubber” game but it mattered.  It mattered more than those outside the Carlton FC could ever fathom.  The Teague train may have finished its journey to the Carlton FC, but the train of Carlton 2020 is gearing up to roll out of the AFL station with not just a “toot toot” but the screaming sound of a bullet train fuelled by the burning fire and hunger for the possibilities that 2020 will bring. I’ve got my ticket!

#I Am Bound By Blue!